


Siren Song

by Kireizaki



Series: DEMI [1]
Category: Monster Girls | Monster Boys
Genre: F/F, Genderbending, Monster Girls, Original Character(s), Other, Romance, TSF, Transformation, Transgender, Yuri, demi-humans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 04:24:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19940173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kireizaki/pseuds/Kireizaki
Summary: A gentle little TG/TF lesbian love story set in a world filled with demihumans. Two people come together at a club one evening, only to find their lives intertwined and changed in ways they couldn't possibly have imagined.





	Siren Song

**Author's Note:**

> My wife and I have been writing TG/TF works for quite some time on Deviantart as a way of sharing some of our own experiences and feelings over the course of our transitions, as these types of stories were very important in helping me come out to myself many years ago, and we wanted to try make stories that could resonate with others in that way, too.
> 
> Though our stories mostly focus on characters from anime/manga/games we love, we recently started delving into original works and characters, making a series called DEMI, which mostly focuses on stories with TG or TF themes about demihumans and monster girls in an alternate world, modern city. We've been considering shifting away from Deviantart as of late to give ourselves more freedom in our writing.
> 
> Though we want to migrate almost all of our works from DA, I thought I'd start with this one to test the waters, the first original story I wrote. It's a gentle little lesbian love story about two people coming together after meeting at a club, better coming to terms with themselves and what they want out of life. It's still one I'm super proud of, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

_“Hey, come on, it’ll be fun. I promise! Besides, when have I ever let you down?”_

Hiroki didn’t want to be here.

_“We’ll meet some cute girls, hear a bunch of awesome new bands…”_

He wished, more than anything, that he could be at home right now.

_“And hey, if you’re really having a bad time, you can leave whenever you want to, I promise!”_

But instead, he was stuck at a club he’d never been to, surrounded by people he didn’t know. He hated it.

It wasn’t that the music was bad, or that there was anything wrong with the club. It seemed like a nice place, but after a long, tiring week at work, all he wanted to do was get some rest, and there was no way that could happen here.

“Hey, did ya hear about the band coming up after this one?” Two men at a nearby table started talking, loud enough for Hiroki to hear everything clearly, no matter how much he didn’t care to. “Their lead singer’s part-siren! I hear she’s got a killer voice.”

“All sirens do!” the first man’s much larger, stockier friend said, his heavily scaled tail taking up its own cushion on the couch he was seated at. “Feels kinda pointless to bring up, don’t you think?”

“You just don’t get it, man!” the other man retorted. “Sure, she’s predisposed to having a good voice, but you’ve gotta have something behind that, y’know? A good voice doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t use it right.”

Tired of eavesdropping, he looked down at his phone and tried to do anything to take his mind off of their extremely loud conversation, staring at the chat log between himself and the person who’d dragged him here. He’d definitely seen the dozen or so messages Hiroki had sent him, so why wasn’t he responding?

「Hey, everything OK?」

He sent another text anyway, knowing that he wouldn’t get any kind of reply, but hoping that, somehow, he’d finally find out that he was free to go, that he could just head home and get into bed. 

He’d come here with someone else, a coworker who he’d hesitate to even call an acquaintance, and it had taken all of five minutes after they’d arrived for him to abandon Hiroki, hitting on the very first girl he’d laid eyes on. Hiroki didn’t feel right hanging around, so he took a seat at the bar, idly watching his coworker as he went from saying hello to getting turned away in a matter of seconds before heading to the next girl that caught his eye and repeating the process over and over.

「Sorry to keep sending these, man, but I’d really like to know if you want me to stick around. I’m getting kinda tired.」

His coworker hadn’t even wanted him here, he knew that, but he needed a wingman, and Hiroki was the only one at work who was available, so he strong-armed him into coming along. Frankly, Hiroki didn’t want himself here either. He hated coming out to places like this, having to act like he was some hunter on the prowl. All of it just felt so wrong to him, in a way that often left him feeling unclean whenever it happened, which was, much to Hiroki’s chagrin, far too often, at least once a week.

Despite him only ever coming out to be his coworkers wingman, he never actually seemed to need Hiroki around. While he normally at least stuck around the bar, acting like Hiroki at least had a purpose, tonight he’d snuck out back with the one girl who finally gave him the time of day, leaving Hiroki completely alone. Still, he knew that if he left now and his coworker actually came back, he’d do everything he could to make Hiroki’s life at work on Monday absolutely miserable. So he waited at the bar, trying and failing to get into the various bands that had taken the stage that night. He just couldn’t get into a good mood at all. 

“Come here often?” a voice asked, pulling Hiroki out of the fugue he’d been in all evening.

He turned to face the voice, seeing a confident-looking blonde girl grinning at him, a drink in her hand. “Well?”

“Uhhh, n-not really. Sorry,” he replied, his voice only barely audible over the music.

“Haha, don’t worry! I won’t bite, really! Do I look that scary?” she asked, taking a deep sip of her drink.

“N-no, it’s not that, I’m just…having a rough night,” he sighed. He’d never liked alcohol all that much, but in that moment, he wished he had something to drink, anything that might make him feel a little less small and scared.

“I hear ya. It’s sorta melancholic for me, actually. Might be the last time I come to a place like this for a while. I love nights like these, but…I dunno, it doesn’t feel the same, y’know?”

“S-sorry, I’ve never really gone anywhere like this before.”

“Man, two apologies in…what, 10 seconds? You’re gonna set a record at this rate! You haven’t even done anything wrong!”

“Sorry, it’s just-”

“Three now!”

“…” Hiroki had no idea what to say in response, so he just kept quiet, his gaze shifting towards his feet.

“Hey, sorry if I made ya feel awkward. You’ve just been sitting here a while, so I figured I’d try cheer you up a little. I’m…not great at this stuff, I’ll admit,” she said, her voice sounding a little less upbeat now. “But y’know what?” she asked, her smile quickly returning.

“What’s that?”

“That makes four! I guess this record’s gonna be a group effort.” Her smile gave way to a toothy grin at that, and she chuckled softly as she took another sip of her drink.

Hiroki, even in his foul mood, couldn’t help but laugh along with her. Despite how awkwardly things had started, he could tell she was really just trying to help out a stranger, and the thought, especially on a night where he felt so utterly alone, meant a great deal to him.

“Name’s Arisa,” she said, holding a hand out towards him. “Nice to meetcha!”

“Hi…Hiroki.” he said, shaking her hand shyly and trying to meet her gaze. “Same to you.” 

Hiroki couldn’t help but notice, as he shook her hand, just how pretty Arisa was. She was fairly tall, and, though her build was mostly slender, there was a toned, well-built quality to her arms that was endlessly enticing. Her features were sharp and aggressive, but those only added to her charm, coming together in a way that made her face more cute and confident than it was harsh, all of it framed by long, silky blonde hair. The most breathtaking part about her, though, was her smile: the toothy, cocky grin that had barely faded since they’d started talking. Despite how easily he clammed up around people like her, something about Arisa made him feel a little less awkward in turn, grateful to find himself in such immediately pleasant company.

“So, Hiroki?”

“Yeah?”

“A preemptive five if this sounds a little rude, but you don’t exactly seem like the type to enjoy places like this. Am I right?”

“Ahaha, no, that’s not rude. You’re not wrong, either.”

“Damn, guess that sets us back to four-”

“Sorry about that,” Hiroki interjected, smiling wryly.

“-Five it is! But in that case, what brings you here, anyway?”

“A coworker I don’t like forced me to come here so he could hit on girls.”

“Ahaha! Right to the point, I like that! Your coworker sounds like a huge asshole! If you’re meant to be some kinda wingman, though, why’re you sitting here and not uhhh…doing whatever wingmen do?”

“I…wish I had an answer for you,” he said, pulling out his phone and showing him their chatlog. “The same goes for the wingman thing. I don’t get it, honestly.”

“Damn, I was hoping I could find out how dudes thought dating worked. No offense, of course. Does that count as six?”

“None taken,” he said, wincing slightly at the thought of being grouped in with people like his coworker. It was bad enough that he was always anxious that was how women viewed his coworker, and, by extension, himself, but hearing confirmation of that struck him hard. There was nothing she could have said that would have made him feel more out of place at that moment, more completely disconnected from the world around him and how it perceived him. But, he told himself, that was hardly her fault. She’d gone out of her way to talk to him, after all, to try and cheer him up. So, he collected himself the best he could, nursing his bruised sense of self, and mustered up a smile. “And sure, we can count it.”

“Seriously, though, what a huge prick,” she added, looking over Hiroki’s conversation once more with a pained expression on her face. “Oh, damn, is that really the time?” She quickly handed the phone back, checked her own, and then slammed back her drink. “Hey, sorry Hiroki. It’s been great and all, but I need to get going. Catch ya later, okay?”

“That’s seven!” he called out as she quickly walked away, the gentle rising and falling of her back making it apparent that she was laughing just like he was.

It was amazing how much such a brief conversation had buoyed his spirits. They’d spoken for barely a couple of minutes, but all of his earlier nerves had completely vanished. As the MC for the evening took to the stage to introduce the next band, Hiroki turned back to his phone. He wasn’t going to let his coworker keep him down any longer, he’d decided. If Arisa could be bold enough to approach a stranger entirely to cheer them up, he knew that he could find it in himself to stand up to someone who’d taken advantage of him for far too long.

「Look, man, I’m glad you seem to be having a good time. But I’m not going to sit around waiting for you any longer. I’m going home. If you have a problem with that, that’s on you. I’ll see you later.」

Breathing deeply, he sent the text, wincing slightly as he did, but knowing that it was for the best. He’d been so unhappy for so, so long. He needed to take his happiness into his own hands, and this was the first, small step towards doing so.

He stood up from his seat, ready to leave when he heard a familiar, confident voice speaking over the club’s sound system, introducing herself and her band before launching into their first song.

Hiroki was spellbound. He was sure that once he’d sent the text there’d be nothing that could keep him there. Arisa had, he’d thought, left to head home for the evening, but there she was, on the club’s small, dimly-lit stage, pouring her heart out for everyone.

He’d never listened to much music. He wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t that he had any real distaste for it; he’d just never found himself going out of his way to listen to anything beyond what he’d hear in videogames and movies. All of the bands that evening, up until that point, had faded into the background for him, little more than noise that, at best, helped him stave off how truly uncomfortable he’d felt when he was sitting by himself.

But Arisa’s band was nothing short of incredible. While he listened to them play, it was as if everything but them and himself had faded away, their music striking a personal chord that completely enraptured him. Their style varied heavily, flitting from energetic punk songs that proudly showed off the confident, aggressive demeanor she’d shown him earlier, to stunning ballads that dug deep into her hopes and fears, her joys and sorrows.

It was her voice, in particular, that caught him off-guard. It was deep and throaty, rough in a way that was instantly captivating. During their slower, softer songs, it sounded like the voice of someone who had been through so much, endured so many hardships, finally finding a moment’s peace. For their harder songs, it was raw and defiant, a voice that was screaming from the heart, determined to make people listen whether they cared or not. He couldn’t take his eyes off of them or hear anything else around him. The sounds of people buying drinks and talking at the bar had faded, becoming a dull background noise, while the the music, Arisa’s music, occupied his complete, total attention.

As their last song of the evening slowly faded out, he couldn’t help but feel a little gripped with melancholy, sad to see such a powerful performance come to a close. But as he looked up at Arisa, noticing the sweat beading her brow, she spotted Hiroki and gave him a sly wink. All those feelings quickly faded away, and he gave her a smile that, unbeknownst to him, was the cheerest he’d given all day, watching as she and her band slowly headed backstage. Once they’d cleared out, he vaguely recalled the conversation he’d heard earlier, the one about the band with the part-siren singer. He wasn’t certain how long he’d been talking with Arisa, so he wasn’t sure if any bands had played between that time and when she went up on stage, so it was entirely possible those two had been referring to her, but, with how wonderful he felt, he honestly wasn’t sure he cared. She was incredible, siren or no.

“Hey, uhhh, sorry to bother you…” he started, turning and grabbing the attention of one of the club’s staff members, a lively looking fey girl whose nametag read ‘Otoha’.

“That band that just played, I don’t suppose they’re selling any of their albums here, are they?”

“Not a bother at all!” she happily replied. “And you’re in luck! We’ve got…two more copies of the album they brought with them, actually!”

“Perfect! How much does it cost?”

“On the house, actually,” she said with a smile, walking Hiroki over to a nearby table some other staff was stationed at, handing him the album he wanted. “They said it was some kind of special occasion. Didn’t really explain any more than that, though.”

“Anyway I can send some money their way, then? I’d…really like to show my support, if that’s possible.”

“Ahaha, that’s sweet, but they actually insisted that they wouldn’t take any money outside of the club’s usual pay rate. If you’d like, I can give them a note from you, though!”

A little disheartened, but not wanting to push the issue further, he agreed to giving them a note, making it clear that he wanted it to go to Arisa, specifically.

_“Arisa,_

_Thank you so much for turning my night around. You and your music have helped me more than I could’ve ever imagined, and I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you._

_And thanks for helping me try to break that record. Sorry we couldn’t get just a little further._

_By the way, that makes eight.”_

Folding the note carefully, he handed it back to Otoha, who happily promising to give it to her before the band left the club. He quickly turned to head home after that, certain that, even if Arisa did stick around, she’d be far too worn down after her performance to want to be bothered by anyone. 

He stepped out into the night air with a smile on his face, the doors of the club shutting behind him. It was a chilly evening, but he couldn’t bring himself to be bothered by that, heading home with a spring in his step, a fire lit within him that he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt before.

~~~

As soon as he got home, he hung up his coat, pulled out the CD, and made a beeline for his desk. He cleared off everything on it, except for his laptop, and wasted no time putting the disc in. As soon as the music started playing, he felt like a child taking his first sip of hot chocolate after playing on a cold day. A pleasant warmth spread throughout his body, and he instantly felt at ease, his head bobbing to the music.

He didn’t realize he’d closed his eyes, noticing that he was so entranced by the music only when the CD started to loop and he opened them again. For as good as he felt, he also felt strangely restless, the image of Arisa up on stage, screaming her heart out, sticking in his head.

“I think…I think I want that…” he said out loud, finally pinning down the feeling he’d gotten since he first heard her sing. “Not to sing but…to make something like that…”

He hesitated for a second before opening up a word processor, staring at the nearly-blinding white in front of him. “Just…something that says who I am. What I feel, what I go through. Something like what she was singing…”

He paused, contemplating how, exactly, he could channel his own feelings the way Arisa so clearly had, before tapping out the first thing that came to mind. He got a few sentences in before hastily deleting it all.

“That’s…that’s no good, jeez. C’mon, I can’t just force this stuff. I’ve gotta speak from the heart…” he muttered, trying and failing to get started several more times, idly catching himself as he tabbed away from his document and started browsing the internet.

“C-can’t get distracted either!” he yelled, frustrated that nothing seemed to work, nothing stuck the way he wanted it to. He paused, shutting his eyes as he tried to calm himself, paying closer attention to the lyrics of Arisa’s music. It was just so incredible how her voice, so clear and raw, brought out the poetry in every single word she sang. Maybe that was what was tripping him up, he wondered. Maybe it was because, in his case, he was just thinking in terms of words on a page. He had to picture it more completely, to imagine what it’d be like if someone else gave a voice to his lyrics. He needed to lie down, that’d help him think a little better. He slowly moved over to his bed, rested his head on the pillow, stared straight up at the ceiling, and shut his eyes.

“If it was Arisa’s voice…” he mumbled almost dreamily. He could see her up on stage now, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath as she prepared to put her all into each and every word. She gripped her microphone tightly, opened her eyes, looking right at Hiroki, and started to sing, pouring her soul into something he’d written, just for her.

He wasn’t sure where he was in the little scene he had imagined. It seemed to be just the two of them, Arisa’s singing accompanied by the music of a band that wasn’t there, but, the more he listened, the more real it felt. He could feel the impact of her voice through the pounding speakers, and could feel pride and happiness surging forth, knowing that those words, as indistinct and unknowable as they were in his fantasy, were ones that he had written for her. Soon he felt even better than he did back at the club, as though all of his worries and frustrations were fading away, leaving only a pleasant warmth radiating through his whole body, one that didn’t fade even as he opened his eyes once more, filled once more with the desire to try and write.

As he moved to get off the bed, however, that pleasant, floaty feeling left him oddly unbalanced, and he fell right back down as his hands caught on the sleeves of his shirt, slipping as he tried to prop himself up.

“Huh…that’s weird…I thought I got this shirt a little smaller than that,” Hiroki commented, settling himself into a sitting position before beginning to roll up his sleeves, shocked as he pulled them past his hands.

“That…that can’t be right, can it?” he asked, shaking his head and lightly patting himself on the cheeks, convinced he was still dreaming. The feeling of his smaller, softer hands against his face only made everything that much clearer to him, though. He looked down at them once more, in awe of every little detail he took in. His palms seemed so much smaller now, almost tiny, while his fingers had become so slim and cute. The jagged, uneven nails that he so frequently bit at when he was anxious were now perfectly adorable, lightly polished fingernails that glistened in the light of his apartment. He could hardly believe it, convinced that it wasn’t real, that where was no way they could possibly his hands and this was all just some strange fantasy. Still, as he lightly wiggled his smooth, milkily pale fingers and felt them brush up against each other almost luxuriously, bearing none of their usual roughness, a small part of him reveled the sensation, loving that it all seemed to be so very, very real.

“This…this is amazing…” he whispered, trying to hide just how excited he felt. He rolled up his sleeves a little higher. Then, a little higher still, moving up past his elbows. His smile grew wider and wider with each part of himself he revealed, delighted to see pale, hairless, slender arms, before he decided to take off his shirt entirely, frustrated with the parts of himself that he couldn’t see. He’d never liked doing that usually; he hated seeing his body anymore than he had to, feeling far too self-conscious to ever want to give it the slightest thought, but he was so curious, so eager now that he couldn’t help but make an exception. Even if it was slight right now, part of him had somehow fallen in line with an ideal for himself that he’d pushed so far down he’d almost completely forgotten about it, and the idea of his fantasies finally becoming real delighted him to no end.

“Oh…oh gosh, is this…some kind of spell?” he asked, letting out an excited gasp as his shoulders crashed inwards, losing their usual broadness as his figure quickly began to shrink down, leaving his body looking slimmer and slimmer by the second. “But…nobody cast anything, right? I’d have…I’d have noticed earlier…” he mumbled, his train of thought slowly grinding to a halt as he looked down at his body. Whatever was happening, the reasons behind it hardly seemed to matter as he rubbed his delicate hands against his smooth, pale arms, and let out a shy, surprisingly cute giggle.

“Huh? Was that…oh! Oh wow!” he exclaimed, delighting in the absolutely adorable tone his voice had suddenly taken on. He giggled softly, pleased with how soft and gentle it sounded, even when he’d been so confused just a moment earlier. It was light and kind, like a pleasant spring breeze, lifting into a delightful, breathless excitement at the end. “This is really wonderful…” he murmured, letting out a soft sigh.

“It’s…it’s OK, right? If I’m turning into a girl? I mean…no, I’m…I’m not turning into one at all, am I?” Hiroki asked. She gave a slight nod, then spoke once more, steeling her resolve. “Mmm, that’s right. Even if it’s some kind of magic that’s…changing my body, it’s not turning me into a girl. After all…” she said, getting up and walking to the bathroom, looking her reflection right in the eyes, “I’ve always been one!” She gave herself an excited, almost triumphant smile, pleased to see that the face she was staring at was already so very, very different from the one she’d begrudgingly seen every morning before work. Before, no matter what she’d tried, she never felt truly satisfied with her appearance. She settled, constantly, for what she was sure would get her through the day without attracting any major attention. Now, it didn’t feel like she had to settle for anything, really. 

Her features were gentler now. Her lips had become softer and fuller, while her eyes were a little larger and more expressive. A striking, deep blue color had swept through her irises, and her eyes were now framed by surprisingly thick, long lashes and brows that had trimmed themselves down to soft, pleasant little arcs. Her cheeks looked just a little rounder than they once had, which made her determined, if somewhat shy, smile seem so much warmer and friendlier, leaving behind all of the awkwardness she’d struggled with for so long. As she admired her features, her nose shrank down to an adorable little point that turned up slightly at the tip, and her glasses slipped for just a moment before she slipped them back into place, where they rested comfortably.

“Ehehe, I was wondering if this’d make my eyes a little better. Guess not, huh?” she asked, her smile never leaving her face as she continued to gaze at her reflection. “But that’s OK! I’ll buy a cuter pair when I get the chance. That’ll look really pretty, gosh…” she giggled shyly, ecstatic that she could finally use words like ‘pretty’ to describe herself at all. She let out a soft gasp as she felt something tickle the back of her neck, and watched as her hair turned a deep, inky black while it grew out. She grabbed at it, clutching a small handful of her locks and running them through her fingers, delighted by how thick and silky they now felt. Her shy smile continued to widen as her hair grew longer still, only beginning to slow once it reached the middle of her back. Though she’d once told herself it was silly, she’d always dreamed of that, of having such long, luxurious hair. Toying with it further, any thought of it being silly went straight out of the window. After all, what could possibly be silly about something that made her so very, very happy?

Her smile faltered for the briefest moment as a wave of dizziness suddenly crashed over her. The world spun for a moment, and she pressed her back up against the wall, determined not to fall over. As her head began to clear, she vaguely noticed the sensation of her back sliding lower and lower, though she’d not moved an inch. She steadied herself, stood up straight, and looked back in the mirror, only to find that far less of her reflection was visible now. Her head and shoulders just barely peeked above the bottom of the frame, where much of her chest had once been clearly reflected. “Oh wow, I’m…I’m kinda short, ehehe…” she giggled. She’d never felt terribly bothered by her height before, but she found her more slim, petite stature nothing short of delightful.

She only seemed to be getting cuter, too. She watched as the changes continued to sweep downwards, and saw her pale tummy flatten out, tightening just a little while her waist pinched in ever so slightly at the sides. She let out a soft, delighted gasp as a slight, gentle weight began to settle into her hips, which pushed themselves outwards just a touch. They weren’t terribly wide, and her frame still looked adorably petite, but she found herself feeling remarkably proud of the way her figure was shifting, running her hands down her slim, gorgeous waist and feeling it gently slope outwards at her ever-so-slightly rounded hips. Shyly, she moved her hands back a little, slowly inching them towards her butt. She soldiered on through her deepening blush as her hands gently cupped her cheeks, gave them a curious squeeze, and giggled at how much softer they felt now, adoring the way her butt filled up her palms. It wasn’t terribly big, but it felt perfect in her hands; just enough squishiness for her to find it absolutely incredible. She turned her head to get a better look at it, just barely spying the delicate roundness it had taken on, and smiled gently at how cute it looked.

“Ahaha, jeez…I must look like some kind of pervert, but…gosh, it really does look adorable.” she said, giggling softly before moving her grasp downward. Her hands slid down her thighs as they steadily softened and filled out, her pale complexion making them look a little more delicate and supple as they did. She hadn’t given it much thought until now, finding herself too taken with her changing figure to notice much else, but she was delighted by how smooth she felt, finally noticing that the body hair she’d always been so embarrassed by seemed to have completely vanished without a trace. 

Her legs, in particular, had always bothered her. She’d never had even the slightest inclination towards wearing anything other than pants, eschewing shorts in even the hottest weather, but as her legs steadily changed, her calves now beginning to look a little slimmer, she found herself remarkably attracted to the idea of trying on a skirt. She didn’t want to be a showoff, she was much too reserved for that, but maybe, just maybe, she could show a little skin every now and then. Just enough to make her look a little cuter. That couldn’t hurt. “Stockings could be really nice, too…” she said, blushing softly as the words left her lips. Her feet began to change as well, getting slimmer and more petite by the second. Though she couldn’t say she’d ever given much thought to her feet in the past, she couldn’t help but find them adorable now, too, as she gently wiggled her toes and smiled to herself, so caught up in how much she loved her current figure that she was completely taken aback when she felt a warm, tingling feeling in her chest. She looked down to see her nipples puffing up and darkening ever so slightly, the color painting itself through her areolae until it had engulfed them completely.

“Oh wow…” she panted as she cupped her chest, breathlessly awaiting what came next. She was careful, as her boobs slowly began to fill out, not to cup them too firmly, her caution informed by a warm, pleasant tingle she felt when her nipples brushed against her palms. They grew out slowly, the flesh beneath her fingertips feeling just a little bit softer and more sensitive by the second, her breasts yielding slightly as they pressed against her fingers. By the time they’d stopped, they didn’t feel particularly big or heavy, but she loved them all the same. She was no expert, but she estimated that they were, at most, a low “C” cup, but they had a gentle, lovely weight to them that she couldn’t help but cherish, and they looked so wonderfully perky and round. She just knew that, in time, she’d get to see them cradled in a bra, and she hoped she could muster up the courage to buy a particularly frilly or lacy one that’d make her chest look extra cute. Not for anyone else, of course, though the idea of dating seemed far more appealing to her now than it had in years, but entirely for herself. She just knew that would leave her feeling more confident and happy than she already was, and she let out a longing, happy sigh at the thought.

She was pulled out of her fantasies by an odd, throbbing feeling in her belly. It wasn’t unpleasant, though. In fact, it felt nothing short of incredible, but she knew exactly what it represented, having kept track of how her body was changing. She was certain that, as it only grew more intense, the wall wouldn’t be enough support for her this time. She slowly, shyly walked back into her bedroom, blushing softly as she heard the sound of Arisa’s voice coming from her computer, sounding far louder and clearer now than it had in her bathroom. Breathlessly, she lowered herself down onto her bed, eagerly awaiting everything that was to follow.

She was glad she had as the unfamiliar, yet wonderful sensations pulsing through her body intensified, knowing that, if she’d stayed in the bathroom, she’d have surely fallen straight to her knees. The feelings grew stronger by the second and her breathing became ragged with pleasure. She wasn’t sure she wanted to look, not until everything was done, but she wasn’t the least bit nervous even as the stimulation of it all began to drown out her sensations. She held on to the sound of Arisa’s singing, though, riding the rising and falling of her voice with the ebbing and flowing of the pleasure within her body, the combination making everything feel so beautiful and tender. Everything reached a peak, her vision flashing white and her muscles spasming, before it slowly began to fade away. Her body finally relaxed and her breathing slowed to a steady, even pace. She wore a smile on her face as she lay on her bed, her eyes slowly fluttering closed as Arisa’s incredible voice lulled her off to sleep. As she was dozing off, a name briefly popped into her head, just before sleep finally took her, one she just knew she’d wanted to carry with her every day from now.

“Yeah…Hitomi…that sounds pretty…” she mumbled, her smile widening just a little more.

~~~

Hitomi felt totally at peace when she woke up the next morning, glad to hear that the album she’d left playing the night before had continued to loop. She couldn’t honestly remember a time when she’d woken up feeling so calm and happy.

A small part of herself idly whispered that maybe everything she’d experienced was just some strange dream, and that the second she spoke or saw herself in a mirror, it’d all come undone. Another, much larger part of herself declared that that hardly mattered. If it was a dream, it was still one that let her come to terms with all the thoughts and feelings she’d kept locked away, and that every day from here on out would see her living with a great deal more honesty, that she would finally let the world see her for who she truly was.

Of course, any worry that it could’ve been a dream quickly fell away as she let out a loud, heavy yawn, held up a hand to her mouth and saw that it was still just as cute and petite as she remembered it being, to say nothing of how adorable her yawn had sounded to her ears.

As she picked herself up off the bed, she looked down at her body once more, giggling and blushing softly as she realized that she’d gone to sleep in the nude, without so much as getting under the covers.

“Ehehe, I dunno if I’ll make that a regular thing, but…if nobody else is around, well…” she blushed softly, before adding, in a much smaller voice, “…maybe it’s OK every now and then.”

She walked over to her closet, deciding that covering up for now would probably be for the best, but quickly found herself dissatisfied with just about every option available to her. “…Did I really have such bad taste?” she asked, almost incredulously. She knew exactly why everything in her closet was the way it was, why she’d selected her wardrobe without even the smallest consideration to what her final outfit would look like, but, still, she’d always hated that. Even though she constantly told herself it wasn’t really worth thinking about, that getting dressed was something she should just get done and over with each morning, and that spending any more time or effort than she absolutely need to to make herself look nice was simply a waste, she’d wanted more than anything, for so very long, to take that time, to make that effort, and to look nicer. She hated how often she’d thought those awful thoughts, but now she could just smile, content with the knowledge that, from now on, even if she didn’t plan to dress terribly flashy, she was finally going to start making more of an effort with her appearance.

“This…this’ll do the trick for today, ehehe…” she laughed softly, picking out a simple shirt and sweatpants. She’d decided that, even if wearing no underwear was more than a little embarrassing, it was far, far better than the alternative. “But, I’ll have to get something new very soon! Maybe I could order some clothes online? Oh, but I don’t really know my measurements, huh? That’s…that’s OK!” She swallowed her shyness as best as possible and settled upon a plan. “Even if I go out dressed like this, there’s…that cute clothes store just across the street! Just one little trip, and I can start getting outfits I’ll actually enjoy!”

Although she was still eager to wear something more stylish, she decided that she’d put a pin in that idea for the time being, resolving herself to make the trip another day. After all, so much had happened last night between heading out to the club, meeting Arisa, and becoming herself, that what she wanted to do above all else was to take it easy and acclimate to everything a little more. As giddy as she was about everything that had happened, there was still a small pit of worry in her belly that churned about as she contemplated what everything would mean for her work. There was, of course, the briefest thought about her family as well, but she hadn’t seen them in years, and, frankly, she had no real interest in telling them about anything that had happened.

Work was a much more immediate issue. She could go back, explain that she’d been affected by some sort of spell, and get right back into the swing of things once everything had been cleared with her boss. At least, that was the first thought that sprung into her head. The more she thought about it, though, the more it bothered her. She hadn’t enjoyed that job in years, had she? She’d certainly had more than a few moments where she’d simply wanted to walk out of the building and never come back again. And, now that she was presented with just that kind of opportunity, it was certainly tempting. She idly picked up her phone, checked the time, and saw that there was a flood of angry texts from the coworker she’d went out with last night waiting for her. She simply chuckled, swiped away the notification, and knew that her mind was already made up. Truthfully, it wasn’t that hard of a decision. The opportunity was right there, the timing couldn’t be any better, and she had at least the smallest hint of what she actually wanted to do instead of being a joyless paper pusher for the rest of her life. She opened up her email app, tapped out a simple message to her boss that had only the loosest sense of formality, and then blocked the address as soon as she’d sent it, not caring in the slightest about what anyone had to say on the matter.

Feeling a little peckish, she quickly walked to the kitchen, got herself something to snack on from the fridge, then went straight to her computer, eager to continue what she’d set out to do last night. She wasn’t bitter at all that her plans had gone awry. If anything, she was happy, realizing that there never really was any way she’d have come close to writing down her sincere, honest feelings before everything that had happened. Now that everything about her and her future seemed so clear and bright, she knew she’d be able to work to her fullest.

As she stared at the blank page she’d left open the night before, she paused for a moment, focused on Arisa’s voice, and then started writing. If her music had lit a fire in her the night before, it had now settled into a more comfortable, pleasant warmth, her body and mind feeling light and breezy in ways they never had before. She felt so creatively energized, so ready to pour out her heart just as powerfully as Arisa had, that the words just flowed out of her. She’d never been able to put much of any energy into these sorts of endeavours, a mental block always stopping her from ever really digging deep into her own feelings, but today, it was as if she’d never dealt with those troubles before. Every single lyric, every word she wrote down, she could picture it so clearly in Arisa’s voice, as if she was guiding her through everything, letting her smash through everything that had once weighed her down. Her anger. Her sorrow. Her hopes. Her fears. The times she’d cried about the way she told herself she’d never be. The memory of her seeing her reflection as it was now, the way she smiled at it, content with herself for the first time in her life. Every second of it showed through in her writing. She created lyrics that, even at their most aggressive, spoke so eloquently to who she was. She wasn’t quite sure if they’d make great songs, having never tried to write any kind of music before, but they were a terrific mirror into her soul, and that was enough for her.

The hours rushed past her as Hitomi paid little mind to the world outside her apartment. She couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to stop. She was determined to see this through to the very end, and by the time she’d written the very last word on the very last song she wanted to make, the day was already nearing its end, the sun having set hours earlier. She stretched a little and yawned softly as she reacclimated herself to her surroundings, before smiling happily to herself.

“Ehehe, I really got on a tear, huh Arisa?” she asked, blushing once she realized what she’d just said, finally pausing the album she’d kept playing for a solid day at that point.

“Jeez, Hitomi, maybe you do need to get out tomorrow, ahaha,” she chuckled softly. “But still, this…this was worthwhile. I think I really needed a day like today.” She carefully rose up out of her chair, having not so much as stood for several hours, and walked into the kitchen to make a cup of hot chocolate, making sure to add a couple extra spoonfuls of sugar to really sweeten it. She was content, in those moments, to just sit and breathe for a while. She’d been so caught up in the excitement of it all and made so many big steps forward that she hadn’t given herself more than the briefest moment to just relax and let herself really feel things out. It was nice, though, to curl up on her couch with a nice, hot drink as she looked at the Onimichi skyline from her window. These small, simple moments had always been pleasant, but now they seemed even more special, everything around her cast in a warmer, more inviting light than she’d ever really known. Tomorrow she’d take a few more steps forward, ones that might seem small or insignificant to anyone else, but ones that she was sure would bring her endless joy over time.

And soon after that, when everything had truly settled down, maybe she’d try and find Arisa again. She’d let her know just how much her music had meant to her. Hitomi could picture her confident, warm grin now. She could hear her thanking her, telling her how happy that all made her.

A small tear rolled down Hitomi’s face as her lips curled into a gentle smile.

“I guess I’ve got a lot I’d like to share with her, ahaha…” she chuckled. She couldn’t wait for what tomorrow would bring.

~~~

“Jeez, kinda chilly out…” Hitomi said, looking at the weather app on her phone as she considered what she wanted to wear for the day. Life had settled into a much more natural, comfortable groove over the past couple of weeks, but these smaller little rituals like getting ready in the mornings and picking out clothes to wear still brought her a great deal of happiness, no matter how mundane they were to most. That week had been pretty windy, and the chill in the air had only grown more pronounced with each day that passed, but she made even that into a positive, using it as a chance to fill her wardrobe with warm, wonderful fall fashions.

She’d also found the perfect way to spend chilly days like this, having developed a fondness for getting her work done in a lovely, lively coffee shop that she’d been frequenting lately. She loved how warm both the store and its atmosphere were, and knew that, no matter how cold things got, buying herself one of their biggest, hottest, sweetest drinks was a surefire way to warm her to her core.

Even with a hot drink, though, she still needed to dress appropriately, or she’d be absolutely miserable as soon as she left her apartment and stepped out into the chilly air. She had no interest in huddling inside all day, especially since, even outside of the work she’d planned to do, she had something important that she needed to get to. Hitomi gave her closet a quick once-over, taking no time at all to find an outfit she was happy with. She slipped on a cute, simple pair of panties, sliding them effortlessly up her smooth, lovely legs, then slipped on a pair of comfortable, sheer-black tights, absolutely adoring the way they caressed and warmly hugged her. Then she worked her perky chest into a matching bra, something simple, but with enough softness to the cups that she wouldn’t have to worry about what the cold might reveal, then slipped on a simple white blouse that was quickly covered up with a slightly loose-fitting black sweater that never failed to keep her warm. For as nice as it was, though, it left her neck exposed to the elements, so she quickly wrapped a soft, fluffy white scarf around her neck, and let the tail of it fall down the right side of her body. Last was a long grey skirt that went down to just above ankles, a piece she loved for how flowy it felt while still being thick enough protect her legs from the cold. She looked at herself in the long, full-length mirror she’d bought, untucked her long, loosely-braided pigtails from the scarf, and let them rest comfortably over her shoulders before adjusting her glasses and smiling to herself, satisfied with just how lovely her ensemble looked.

“Aaaand just in time, too, they should be opening now…” she muttered, looking down at the time on her phone. Moving with a great deal more haste than she’d shown while dressing, she grabbed her laptop and stuffed it into her bag, making sure her notes were packed in comfortably. She quickly slipped on a pair of simple white pumps she had placed near her front door, then headed out into the city, walking with a spring in her step and shivering ever so slightly as a chilly breeze blew past her.

~~~

“Sorry, Hitomi. No word last night, either,” Otoha, a staffer at the club started as she hauled a box into the building. Hitomi followed closely behind with a smaller box in tow. “Y’know you don’t have to help out with this stuff, right?” she added, as both girls put their boxes down on the bar’s countertop.

“Mmm, but…you’re doing so much for me,” she said with a soft smile. “I just wanna return the favor.”

“Haha, I appreciate the thought! But, well…I haven’t actually done a thing for you. Not yet, anyway.”

“That’s not true,” Hitomi started, staying upbeat even as she faced down the same dead end she’d come across every day for weeks. “Even knowing that you’re keeping an eye out means the world to me.”

“Well, we’ve just gotta be patient. We’ll hear from them soon, I’m sure.” Otoha smiled, reassuring her as best as she could.

Hitomi had been terrified the first day she went back to the club where she’d first met Arisa. She was sure that asking after her and her band would get her in trouble, that people would think she was stalking them. Otoha, however, never cast even the slightest bit of doubt upon her, knowing that, really, Hitomi just wanted to tell Arisa how important her music had been for her.

Sadly, that didn’t actually get her any closer to meeting her.

Her band had, up until the night Hitomi had seen them, played fairly frequently in bars and clubs throughout Onimichi. They’d never been huge, according to Otoha, but they’d been drawing bigger and bigger crowds with each show they played, getting booked to perform just about every weekend. They were sure to play again soon, Otoha told Hitomi. It wouldn’t take long at all for her to see them again.

But then it had all just stopped. They hadn’t performed anywhere, to Hitomi’s knowledge, since that night at the club, without giving anyone so much as a word about why, and thus the trail went cold. Hitomi kept trying to find them, though. She visited the club every single morning to see if anyone might have any idea of where the band might be, but nothing ever turned up, and her search felt increasingly fruitless with each day that passed. She was determined to keep going, though. Her desire to thank Arisa, to let her know just how much joy her music had brought to her life, was important to her and kept her going through each and every dead end. In truth, she couldn’t think of anything more important to her than to be able to sincerely thank Arisa for everything, even if the conversation never moved past that.

“Same time tomorrow?” Otoha asked, still smiling warmly.

“Mm, if that’s OK with you. Oh, but only if I can help out with your work, too!” Hitomi smiled back.

“Of course it is! And…yeah. Yeah, I know I couldn’t stop you if I tried. Keep your chin up, OK Hitomi? We’ll find out something soon, I know it.”

“Definitely,” Hitomi agreed. “I hope your day goes wonderfully! Thanks again for everything!” she said, turning and heading on her way.

~~~

The barista handed Hitomi her order and bowed deeply after she’d taken the drink, giving her a clear look at her adorable, bushy tail. Hitomi smiled back at her and made her way to the back of the coffee shop, where things were just a little quieter and cozier. She was particularly delighted to find that some of the shop’s comfier chairs were still unoccupied, and plopped herself down on one with a blissful smile. Even though her search had hit the same frustrating dead end again, as she took a sip from her white hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, savoring its rich, wonderfully sweet flavor, she let out an adorably contented sigh, feeling as if all her cares had just floated away.

Still, she did come here to work. As much as she’d have loved to just sit there and happily sip her drink, the faster she got her current piece done, the sooner she could get back to relaxing.

She put her drink on the table in front of her, pulled her laptop out of her bag, rested it on her soft thighs, and set out to get to work, though not before plugging in her headphones and queueing up some music to listen to, of course. No matter how much she loved the ambience of the coffee shop, it was music that really helped her work smoothly. Hell, she wasn’t sure she could get through a workday at this point without it.

A couple of hours passed in what felt like minutes, and she’d ordered drink after drink to keep herself energized as she forged on ahead. She knew she’d be fine even without a constant supply of hot chocolate, but a very convincing part of herself felt horrified at the mere idea of not having something sweet to push her along. Still, the 5 cups she’d bought eventually took their toll on the poor girl, and, unable to keep the laptop flat as she tried to type, she carefully stood up and made her way to the bathroom. She told herself that she’d slow down on the hot chocolate for the rest of the day as she washed and dried off her hands, feeling far more energized for her break than any of the drinks had made her. She didn’t have much work left to go, anyway. Another cup would probably be excessive…

Lost in her own head, she didn’t even notice the girl walking right past the bathroom door as she pulled it open and stepped outside, and bumped into her elbow, letting out a small squeak in shock as she stumbled forward. The other woman let out a calmer “Whoa!” of her own, using one hand to tightly grip her drink while the other found Hitomi’s shoulder, steadying her as she tried not to fall.

“S-sorry!” Hitomi cried out, a bright blush creeping into her cheeks as she steadied herself. “I’m really really sorry! I was just a bit distracted, and you were right outside the door, so- No, that sounds like I’m blaming you! Sorry! I promise I don’t mean it like that, I just ummm…well, sorry! I’m really running my mouth, huh?”

“Haha, don’t worry about it! Didn’t spill a drop, see?”

As the slightly taller girl showed Hitomi her still-full cup of coffee, she let out a heavy relieved sigh, then finally looked up to see her face.

“Something wrong? You’re looking kinda pale…” she asked, her grin giving way to a look of concern as she squeezed Hitomi’s shoulder tighter to ensure she stayed on her feet.

There was no way, right? It couldn’t be… 

There was no way she could just…show up out of the blue. All of her searches had turned up nothing, and now, when she wasn’t even trying to find her… Arisa was just…here.

“S-sorry…” she stammered, barely able to say anything through the cavalcade of thoughts suddenly rushing through her head. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she’d planned on telling her, but all of that had completely flown out of her head. “I just…it’s…ummm… Sorry, gotta collect my thoughts…”

“Hey, that’s OK! Why don’t you sit down for a sec? Get off your feet until you feel better.”

“Uhhh, yes, umm, well…” She tried to form a coherent sentence, but gave up and pointed in the direction of her belongings. “I was…I was over there.”

“Perfect! Best seat in the house! I’ll stay with you until you’re feeling better, got it?” Arisa asked, already walking Hitomi over to her things and slowly lowering her on the couch.

“S-sorry for making you go through all this. I don’t want to impose, it’s just…well, sorry, I-”

“Damn, you must be pretty shaken up! We hit eight back at the club, and you’ve already doubled it in a couple of minutes!” Arisa chuckled, before suddenly pausing, her expression, and Hitomi’s in turn, looking steadily more confused by what she’d just said.

“H-how…how did you…?”

“S-sorry! Guess it’s…it’s my turn to apologize, ahaha!” Arisa let out a shaky, flustered laugh. “You just remind me of…” she stared at Hitomi. Arisa was sure she’d never seen her face before in her life, but as she gazed into her deep blue eyes, looking just a little bigger and shyer through the large round lenses of her glasses, she was certain that she knew her.

“Arisa,” Hitomi started, trying her best to hold herself together, “you… you recognize me?”

“A few weeks ago, at the club just down the street, you were…you were waiting at the bar for a coworker to text you…”

“And you came up to me, talked to me, made me feel better.”

“It was a little hard to tell, since you just kept apologizing for every little thing…like you were just scared to…exist…”

Arisa let the end of her sentence hang as she stared into Hitomi’s eyes. The apologizing was still there, there was no way either of them could deny that, but as she looked at her more, she realized that what she’d just said wasn’t quite true anymore. The feeling she got from her was similar, but she could sense something in her eyes that wasn’t there before, a comfort that person at the club was completely lacking.

“I don’t get it… I’m really not sure why or how I know it’s you, but…” She shook her head, before smiling warmly at Hitomi. “It looks like I brought us up to seventeen, huh?”

Hitomi’s eyes started to brim over with tears, her lips curling into a smile as she squeaked out a soft, elated, “Yeah, I guess you did.” She then took a deep breath, wiped her tears away, and added, “My…my name’s Hitomi. It’s…it’s really great to see you again!” Despite trying her best to stay calm, she couldn’t help but shout out that last sentence, not caring if anyone else in the shop heard.

“That’s…that’s really cute, Hitomi,” Arisa smiled. “I’m sure a bunch of people have told you this but…it really suits you.”

“Ahaha, no, you’re…actually the first. Outside of getting my ID changed, I haven’t really spoken to anyone about all of this.”

“But…how did this happen? I mean, it’s only been a couple of weeks… Some kind of spell?”

“I…I don’t know. That night, after you performed, I felt so energized that I had to do something. I got one of your CDs and just sat down to write, to get out whatever emotions I had floating around, and then, as I was trying to sort out what that was, this all…just happened…” she explained, gesturing at herself.

“You didn’t…get this done on purpose? It just…happened?”

“Yeah…” Hitomi mumbled, smiling shyly. “B-but I’m not upset or anything! It’s pretty amazing, honestly. I didn’t really realize it until it started, but…I’ve always been this way inside…” As nervous as she felt saying all this out loud for the first time, she couldn’t stop her smile from spreading. It was scary, being so honest, but she hadn’t let her fears bring her down at all these past few weeks, and she wasn’t about to start now.

“Could I ask you something, Hitomi?” Arisa’s usual grin had all but faded now. Her expression looked serious in a way Hitomi had never quite seen it, though it didn’t feel harsh or scary at all, her eyes displaying a kindness and warmth that made Hitomi feel endlessly secure, like she could confide in her about anything.

She nodded softly, and Arisa spoke again.

“This all happened right after I performed? That energized feeling and, well, everything that followed?”

“Mmm. Well, the bulk of it happened when I got home, but…I felt so warm after hearing you sing, like everything that had been weighing me down just vanished in an instant.”

Arisa simply nodded, with a pensive, understanding look on her face. “I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure how to phrase this. I could spend hours trying to think of what to say and it’d still sound weird in my head. A part of me still tells me you won’t believe this at all, but-”

“It was something about your performance that changed me,” Hitomi interrupted, still wearing a soft smile. “That’s what you’re trying to say, right?”

Arisa nodded once more. “Yeah. I…I think so, anyway. It wasn’t…something I intended to do, or honestly, looking at everything that’s happened, something I even knew I could do, but it…well, it checks out. If…if you’re furious with me, Hitomi, if you wanna walk away right now, you can, but I at least owe you an explanation, so if you’d let me say that much, I’d-Hey!” Arisa chuckled as Hitomi cut her off once more, wrapping her up in a tight, warm hug.

“No matter what,” Hitomi started, looking up at Arisa with tears in her eyes, “I’m not letting you tell yourself that any of this is a bad thing. Not at all. I don’t think I’d have ever been brave enough to do this alone, and even if neither of us had any idea any of this would’ve happened, it’s brought me so much happiness that I honestly don’t think I could thank you enough. You…you got that?” she asked, her tears flowing just a little faster as she curled her lips into a smile, before hugging Arisa even tighter and pressing her face into her shoulder. “I…I don’t know where I’d be without all this,” she sobbed, “but I know I wouldn’t feel this good. I know that, deep down, I’d barely even feel like me.”

“I…yeah, I’ve got it,” Arisa smiled back, her voice filled with just a little more of her usual confidence as she gently wrapped an arm around Hitomi. “You’re being brave, so…I’ll be brave too, I promise! But listen,” she gently patted Hitomi on the back, prompting her to pull out of the hug, “it’s gonna take a while to explain. So why don’t you take a few to dry your eyes, hmm? I’ll get you a drink, and if you’d like, we can go somewhere more private and talk through all of this.”

Hitomi shook her head, pulling her sleeve over her hand and wiping away her tears. “Let’s stay here.”

“You sure?” Arisa looked around. Thankfully, the part of the shop they were in was quiet, but even so, talking so openly in a public place had to be nerve wracking.

Hitomi nodded and smiled as she said, “I really wanna get a few more white hot chocolates, so…yeah, I’d like to keep talking here.”

Both girls burst out laughing at that. Any worries and fears they’d had flying away in an instant.

“Ahaha! Yeah, sure! Want me to go order one for you?” Arisa asked, once she’d calmed down enough to speak.

“I…like it a certain way, so let’s go together, OK?” Hitomi responded, standing up and grabbing Arisa by the hand.

“Yeah, that…that sounds really nice.”

Arisa smiled, holding Hitomi’s hand as firmly as she held her own, and walked to the counter with her, her smile only widening as she listened to Hitomi excitedly give her order, unable to sit still while she waited for the barista to hand it back to her. She looked so damn cute when it arrived, Arisa thought. The way her eyes just lit up once she finally took her first sip, the adorably cute sigh she let out as she savored the almost certainly sickeningly sweet flavor. It took Arisa a moment to collect herself, before she hastily grabbed her own drink and walked back to the couch with Hitomi.

“Guessing that’s good?” Arisa asked with a grin, letting go of Hitomi’s hand as they sat back down, watching her cradle her cup almost protectively.

“Mm-hmm!”

“That’s…a lot of whipped cream,” Arisa commented, taking a sip of her own, much simpler cappuccino.

“It makes it extra sweet!” Hitomi smiled, confident that she’d given more than enough explanation.

“I’ll bet it does…”

Hitomi paused for a moment, looking at her drink almost longingly, before holding it out to Arisa. “You want a sip?” she asked, seeming almost heartbroken at the idea of losing out on even a drop of it.

“Ahaha, no no, I’m good!” Arisa was sure she wouldn’t have enjoyed it at all, but watching Hitomi’s smile return in full force when she realized she could keep it all to herself made her feel even better about refusing a taste.

“If it’s difficult,” Hitomi spoke between sips, “you don’t have to give me any kind of explanation, you know. I can’t say I’m not a little,” she sipped again, “curious about what happened, though.”

Arisa shook her head. “That’s sweet, Hitomi, but I’ll be OK. Just…just gotta go for it, ahaha.”

Hitomi put down her drink for the briefest moment, reached over to Arisa, and clutched her hand tightly. “I’m…I’m here for you. I won’t be upset, no matter what you say.”

Arisa smiled, “Thanks Hitomi, that…that means a lot, really. So yeah, let’s go for it.”

She took a deep breath, looked Hitomi straight in the eyes, and dove right in.

“My grandmother was a siren. And, I mean, that only makes me like a quarter siren or something like that, but I’ve still got a bit of that in me. I’d never really thought too much about it until now, to be honest, but I guess maybe that matters more than I realized. I thought it just meant that I really liked singing and was pretty good at it, but, well…”

“See, the thing is, sirens’ voices have always had a strong power. They come from the heart, voicing all of their emotions, pure and clear. And, for people who are particularly lonely or isolated, those raw emotions sort of end up like a beacon, something that really draws them in. I’d heard that ability falls off steeply if someone isn’t a full siren, to the point where, if it happens at all, it only really calls out to people they’ve got some kind of connection with. And I guess…maybe that’s what happened with you…”

“But…changing my entire body to draw me in? I’m…I’m not an expert, but I’ve…never heard of a siren doing something like that…”

“I mean, maybe it doesn’t happen often, but if…y’know, if it was related to whatever fundamental reasons you might’ve had for ending up so isolated, well…”

“It…drew me away from all of that, huh?”

“Yeah, I think so, anyway. Seeing how much more at ease you seem these days sure makes it feel like we’re on the mark.” Arisa took another sip of her coffee, a small part of her worrying that this all sounded absurd to Hitomi, but staying determined to open up to her about everything.

“And…gosh, this might sound rude to ask, but you said it could only affect people you have a connection with, right?”

“Right.”

“So…why me? Why not anyone in your band, or any of your friends or, well…anyone else? You and I…we’d only just met for the first time that night…”

“Ahaha, that’s not rude at all!” Arisa chuckled. “It does seem weird, right? But…I guess I didn’t really explain it too well. I’m…kinda worried it’ll sound creepy or something.”

“Remember what I said?” Hitomi asked, her tone as warm and kind as possible. “Nothing you tell me could upset me. So…just go for it,” she smiled.

As strange as it might’ve seemed, that did calm Arisa a great deal. She’d heard these sorts of lines before, but whenever she felt sad or scared, it was notoriously difficult to bring her mood back up. With Hitomi, though, it took almost no effort at all, her mere presence comforting her so wonderfully. There was no way she could avoid saying what was on her mind, not when evidence of it was sitting right in front of her.

“We…hit it off pretty quickly in that club, huh? You seemed so nervous, but as soon as I saw you sitting at that bar, looking scared of your own shadow, I just felt drawn to you. Like I had to ease that pain, somehow.”

“Yeah, you…you helped a lot.”

“You helped me too, y’know. I didn’t wanna perform that night, not at all, but you just soothed me, made me smile like I hadn’t in months, and…” She decided to stop being coy, she had to come out and say it. “Basically, it’s…our souls. They’re connected in a way that might not be obvious to us, but it draws us together, makes us feel comfortable and happy around each other like we never really do around anyone else.”

“So…soulmates?”

“Y-yeah. I…didn’t wanna say it that way, but that’s the gist of it.”

“Dork!” Hitomi teased, sticking out her tongue at Arisa. “Saying that ‘our souls are connected’ is pretty much the exact same thing, ahaha!” she laughed, gently.

“H-hey! Bear with me, it’s tough telling someone that…y’know, you’re their soulmate! I was worried it’d sound like a weird pickup line or something!”

“Loooootta effort to go through for a pickup line, don’t you think?”

“Ahaha! Guess so! And where’d all this sass come from, huh?” she asked, her expression brimming with confidence.

“Y’know,” Hitomi scratched her cheek, making a show out of pondering her answer, before smiling at Arisa and saying,“I guess it’s just something about you that makes me feel all comfy and happy. I hope I figure out what it is one day,” she teased, drinking deeply from her cup before looking down into it and frowning.

“Want me to get you another one?” Arisa asked.

“Ahaha, you’re sweet, Arisa, but I’ll be OK. I…really love these things-”

“I can tell.”

“-but this is way more important. So…let’s just keep talking.” Hitomi smiled warmly, before adding, “I’ll get another one as soon as we’re done, anyway.”

“I’d be shocked if you didn’t,” Arisa said, half-jokingly, before shifting the conversation back on track. “But y’know, ‘soulmates’ or no, I don’t wanna force you into a relationship with me just because…because of everything we spoke about. No matter what, I never, ever want to make you feel uncomfortable. So if this weirds you out, I’ll give you all the space you could ever need, you got that?”

“Ahaha, got it. But…I dunno if I’d ever ask that of you. To have you just…walk away.”

“But-”

“I get that it’s gotta be difficult, saying all this stuff and expecting anyone to just roll with it. Maybe other people wouldn’t accept it. Maybe they’d get scared off or keep their distance, but…I’d been looking for you for so long. I’d been waiting for the chance to tell you about how much better I felt, how much your music mattered to me, and to thank you for everything. I was worried it’d seem creepy or stalkery or…any number of bad things, ahaha,” she laughed, shyly. “But you took all that, all my fears and worries, and just blew them all away. Even now, you’ve been so brave, so incredible and kind. So…maybe I am accepting things pretty quickly, but…I’d like to keep spending time with you, I’d like to…keep feeling like this.”

For as hard as she was trying to stay composed, she froze up the second she finished her sentence, blushing furiously as she realized just how much it had sounded like a confession of love.

“Sounds like you’ve had a pretty busy month, then, huh?” Arisa asked, her voice full of warmth. “I’m sorry for that, really. I wouldn’t have ghosted so hard on everything if I knew any of that. I just…I had some things of my own I needed to work through and figure out. But, I think talking to you has helped me with that a lot more than any of the time I spent alone did. Haha, go figure, huh? Could have just stayed where I was and had all my worries taken care of instead of trying to make a big deal out of everything. That doesn’t really matter too much, though. I’m here now, and so are you, so…maybe we should make the best of this?” She let her question hang in the air, a slightly nervous tilt settling into her smile.

Hitomi let out a soft, relieved sigh. “Yeah. That…that sounds really nice, Arisa. Do you think, maybe…” she trailed off briefly, fiddling with the ends of one of her braids shyly as she continued, “…we could go back to my apartment? Or yours, if you’d prefer. Just somewhere we can speak in private. There’s some stuff I’d like to talk about, and…to show you.”

“Yeah, I think I’d like that.” Arisa smiled, putting her hand on Hitomi’s to calm her down just a little more.

“Oh! Before we leave, I’m just gonna order a drink to go real quick. Want me to get one for you?” Hitomi asked, as she gathered up everything she’d brought with her.

Arisa politely declined, more than a little unsure of how Hitomi could even think about drinking another one of those things, but she still walked with her up to the counter and stayed at her side as she placed her order.

“Can I get one more white hot chocolate with extra whipped cream? To go, this time, please!” Hitomi asked, wearing a cheerful smile. 

The barista hardly needed to hear Hitomi say a word to know exactly what she wanted to order, but she smiled politely as she said, “I’m sorry Ma’am, but we’re out of whipped cream. Would you still like the white hot chocolate?”

Hitomi looked about ready to burst into tears.

“Y-you’re out? But you’ve gotta have tons of it, right? There’s no way you can be totally out of stock, right? Especially not this early in the day…”

“Well, we get our stock in tomorrow, and we have had a lot of customers requesting more with their drinks than usual, lately, so, unfortunately, we’re all out.” She kept her polite smile, though the way her fluffy little ear gently twitched as she spoke showed that she was doing everything she could to not just tell Hitomi outright that she was the biggest reason for their current whipped cream shortage.

Arisa, understanding exactly why they’d run out, put a hand on Hitomi’s shoulder and smiled, saying, “I’m sure it’ll still be good without it, right?”

Arisa was sure she saw a glint in Hitomi’s eye for the briefest second as her lips curled into a determined smile, before she placed the order and grabbed the drink as quickly as possible, practically pulling Arisa outside the store the second it was in her hands.

“Hey! What’s got you so fired up?”

“I’ve got whipped cream at home! If we hurry, we can get back before my drink cools down!”

Arisa let out a loud, hearty laugh as she clutched Hitomi’s hand tightly, making sure to match her shockingly quick pace.

~~~

Hitomi let out a long, delighted sigh as she plopped herself down on her couch with her newly topped-up drink. She’d looked like nothing short of a demon as she sped through the city to get back here, but now Arisa couldn’t see so much as a lick of her earlier ferocity, just warmth and contentment.

“So uhhh, Hitomi?”

“Hmm?” She even sounded adorable now, her voice sounding a lot lighter and airier, complementing her incredibly serene smile nicely.

“You said you wanted to show me something?”

Hitomi’s smile looked just a little unsure at that, her cheeks blushing a soft red as she picked herself up off the couch, put down her drink, and headed straight for the bag she’d been carrying earlier.

“Yeah, I…I do,” she spoke up, rifling through the bag’s contents and grabbing a small stack of papers, clutching them tightly against her chest.

“If it’s difficult, you don’t have to-”

“I’ll…I’ll be OK. I’m being brave too, right?” Hitomi cut Arisa off, determined not to waver on this. “This is really important to me, even if it’s a little tough to…to actually get off my chest.”

Arisa smiled warmly at her. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, I promise.”

Hitomi held out the papers for Arisa, shutting her eyes tightly as she spoke. “I-I’d really like you to read these!” she shouted, blushing brightly as she realized just how loud she’d been. “This is everything I wrote after I listened to your album. I just…I had so many thoughts I wanted to get out, so many feelings I just couldn’t leave unsaid. I know that some of it was because of your voice, but your lyrics were so incredible, so raw. I just really, really wanted to do something similar, to show all those parts of myself I’d kept locked away for so long.”

Arisa took the papers from Hitomi’s hands, and gave her a reassuring smile as she saw her open an eye just enough to peek through. She looked down at the pages, having taken little more than a glimpse at the words written on the first page before Hitomi grabbed her attention once more.

“They’re…they’re song lyrics,” she said, her eyes were wide open now, sparkling, as if they were seconds away from brimming over with tears. “I’ve never written any kind of music before, and they might seem silly, but…they’re important to me, so if you could…could at least try give them a read, it’d mean the world to me, Arisa.”

“Of course I’ll read them,” Arisa grinned. “If they’re that important to you, then I’d bet there’s no way they could be anything less than amazing!”

“That’s really kind of you, but-”

“Don’t doubt yourself, OK Hitomi? I’ll read them right away, and let you know what I think as soon as I’ve gone through them. Sound good?”

Hitomi nodded vigorously in response, though her blush hadn’t faded in the least.

“If it’s easier for you, do you want me to read this in another room? Let you relax here until I’m done?”

“N-no, I’ll be OK. I’ve got my hot chocolate, after all…” she smiled, her light joke cheering her up just a little.

“That’s the spirit!” Arisa chuckled. “But do me a favor, in that case.”

“Y-yeah, of course.”

“No matter what, try not to panic while I’m reading this, OK? There’s no good in filling your head with all kinds of scary thoughts before I’ve even said a word.”

“I’ll…I’ll do my best,” Hitomi said, sitting back down and taking a sip of her drink, feeling just a little more at ease as she did.

“That’s all I could ever ask,” Arisa smiled, before looking down at the papers she’d been handed and starting to read over their contents.

As she read them over, she started to understand a lot about Hitomi and where all that nervousness she was working so hard to hold back came from. She didn’t know the specifics of course; they were song lyrics, not a memoir. Above all else, though, they were unmistakably Hitomi, and Arisa couldn’t help but smile as she imagined the late nights she must have spent working her hardest to come up with the exact words to describe how she felt. After all, Arisa had been there herself, many times. And, just like when she wrote songs, she started to picture them accompanied by music, just a simple rhythm, Hitomi’s words belted out in Arisa’s voice, marrying her power to her sincerity.

“These are…these are really amazing, Hitomi…” Arisa said, shuffling around the papers in her hand to try and decide which one she really wanted to talk about the most. As she did, though, she saw Hitomi over the on the couch, fidgeting to herself and looking an adorably combination of embarrassed and scared.

“H-honestly, they’re nothing… I-I mean compared to the songs you write, they’re just…”

Arisa wasn’t quite sure, in that moment, if anything she said would really convey just how much they mattered to her, just how incredible she found them.

So she didn’t say anything else. Instead, she put the pages down, got out of her seat, and walked straight over to Hitomi, wrapping her arms around her tightly as she pressed her head against her shoulder.

“A-Arisa…”

“You worked hard on these, didn’t you?”

“I mean, I…”

Hitomi fumbled for an excuse for a while, before softly nodding in response.

“They’re incredible, Hitomi. They’re so heartfelt and sincere and just…gah! There’s a million different ways I want to praise them, but I don’t wanna put pressure on you at all, so…” Arisa pulled back out of the hug, looked Hitomi in the eyes, and smiled.

“They’re so very you, Hitomi, and I’m so, so happy you were brave enough to share these with me.”

This time it was Hitomi who pulled Arisa into a hug, squeezing her tightly as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“It…it was hard, y’know,” she smiled through her tears, “I was so happy when I wrote them, so desperate to share them with you. I wasn’t sure when I’d get the chance, so I carried them with me everywhere. I kept picturing what it’d be like when you read them, but I never imagined I’d get this…this worried that you’d hate them. Ahaha, it seems so silly now, jeez,” she giggled, hugging Arisa just a little tighter.

“Not that hugs aren’t amazing, but…do you mind if I sit next to you, Hitomi? I’ll keep holding your hand, if it’ll make things more comfortable for you.”

“Y-yeah, if that’s OK.” Hitomi smiled, feeling Arisa take her by the hand and give it a gentle squeeze as she plopped herself down next to her.

“I think, and maybe I’m biased because of the whole connection we have, but I think I get how you felt. How you still feel. I get how scary this must’ve been, and I get how, even though I said all that stuff, your heart’s probably still pounding. I know I’ve reacted similarly to people reading anything I’ve ever written.” She let out a soft sigh, shook her head, and continued speaking. “But y’know, it’s…it’s not all bad. To feel that way, I mean. Because that’s really just showing how much of yourself you poured into these. You were worried I’d hate them because…well, that’d be like hating a part of you, huh?”

Hitomi bit her lip softly, and nodded shyly.

“I’ve been so scared of performing at all lately, y’know. That show at the club, that was my last time singing with that band. I’ve got a lot of wonderful memories with all of them, we made so much incredible music together, but I guess, after a point, it just felt stifled and lost, like whatever it was that had made this so special to me was just…gone. I couldn’t keep going anymore, after that. I told myself I’d get back into music one day, but…I dunno if I really would’ve, honestly.”

“That’s…that’s awful…”

“Ahaha, it kinda sucks, yeah!” Arisa chuckled, much to Hitomi’s surprise. “But that’s OK! I…I can finally look back at it all, everything that was holding me down, and…I can finally see that that’s not all there is. Because, when I read your lyrics, I think I felt that spark again, Hitomi. I felt excited about music for the first time in ages, like I could just get up and perform again, right now.”

“It’s…just like when I heard your voice, Arisa,” Hitomi smiled. “All that stress and worry just floated away in an instant. Gosh, maybe I’m pretty powerful too, huh? Let me know if you start feeling any changes coming on, got it?” she asked with a teasing smile, both girls giggling softly at the joke. “But hey, Arisa?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think that…and gosh this is hard to ask, but do you think that maybe, one day-”

“Could I perform those songs for you?” Arisa asked, certain that her thoughts lined up with Hitomi’s.

“Ahaha, no fair! You’re exploiting our connection already. Finishing my sentences like that, jeez…” she joked, putting on an adorably exaggerated pout. “But yeah…if you could, I’d really like that. When I wrote them, I had you in mind the whole time. I could practically hear it, my words being sung in your voice.”

Arisa smiled softly at that. “I felt the same way when I was reading them, y’know. Wanted to just belt ‘em all out right then! Figured it’d kinda freak you out if I went that fast, though.”

“You’re right. It 100% would’ve.”

“Ahaha, yeah! So I guess I wasn’t trying to finish your sentence or anything. I just…I’d been dying to ask you the same thing from the moment I finished. So yeah, if you’d let me…I really wanna work with these. I wanna sing them so damn badly it almost hurts!” she grinned, wrapping up Hitomi in another tight, loving hug.

“And you know,” Arisa began to say, looking at Hitomi and leaning down slightly, “there’s something else I’ve really wanted-”

Before she could finish her sentence, though, Hitomi leaned up and wrapped her lips around hers, gently pressing them around Arisa’s until, with a big blush painting her cheeks, she pulled away.

“Now who’s the one finishing sentences, huh?” Arisa teased, before leaning back down and returning the kiss. 

“I know this is all moving fast, and we can pin this on our connection all we want, but…I love you, Arisa, and well…judging by how wonderful our kiss was…I’m probably not far off in guessing you feel the same way.”

Arisa smiled, half-tempted to tease Hitomi about how even her confession was adorably dorky, but she chose to keep that to herself, knowing that really, she wouldn’t want things any other way. She gave a soft nod as she replied, “Yeah, I love you too. And…who cares if this is moving fast, haha! It’d probably kill us both if we took much longer to get here, ahaha!”

“Gosh, yeah, it really would,” Hitomi said, sounding almost exasperated at the mere thought. “So…if you’d like, why don’t we spend tonight here, together?”

“Ahaha, I’m pretty dense when it comes to relationships, I’ll be honest, but even I know there’s no way I could head on home and leave us alone for the night after everything that’s happened.”

“If you left, we’d probably just keep each other up all night with texts, huh?”

“Ooh, maybe I should go! It’ll be like I’m in high school again! I’ll even hide under my covers just in case my mom barges in and gives me hell!” She grinned teasingly, before adding, “But if I did that, I couldn’t work on these songs with you, could I?”

  
“Work on them?”

“Oh! I won’t change a word of your lyrics, not unless we both think something’ll flow a bit better; they’re really amazing as-is! But we’ve gotta have some music to go along with these before they’ll be finished songs, don’tcha think?” 

“Hmmm…” Hitomi wrapped her arms behind Arisa’s neck, leaned in, and gave her another soft kiss. “That’d mean you’d need to spend a lot of your time here, wouldn’t it?”

Arisa’s eyes darted to the side for a moment, looking in the direction of what she assumed was Hitomi’s bedroom, before giving her reply.

“Sure would. I might even need to move in…”

“Then…then I guess maybe I should show you around. At least give you an idea of where you’ll- where we’ll be sleeping.”

Hitomi picked herself up off the couch, gently taking Arisa’s hand in her own.

Arisa smiled back at her, standing up alongside her girlfriend.

“Lead the way.”

~~~

Hitomi looked up at the sky with a smile on her face, as a surprisingly strong breeze blew through the park, knocking one of the leaves on the branches above her off of its perch. She watched it slowly flutter to the ground, giggling as it came to rest against her chest before holding it up to her eyes.

“It’s a leaf,” Arisa teased as she approached her girlfriend, standing above her with a pair of drinks in her hands. “They grow on trees.”

“Gosh, the world’s just full of wonders,” Hitomi smiled back, setting the leaf on the blanket she’d been laying down on, before sitting upright and taking the drink with an almost toppling pile of whipped cream from Arisa, pleased to find that it was exactly sugary enough to satisfy her for the time being. She already planned to go and get another one once she’d finished the one Arisa had brought her, though.

“So,” Arisa took a seat next to Hitomi, “Otoha called, wanted to see if I was still ready to perform tomorrow night.”

“Oh? What’d you say?”

“Gave her a tentative yes, but I told her it’d depend on whether or not you were still up for it.”

“Jeez…” Hitomi’s cheeks blushed a soft red as she rested her head against Arisa’s shoulder. “Why’d you have to pin it on me like that?”

“Well it’s mostly because you’re too cute not to tease!” Arisa grinned, as she ruffled Hitomi’s hair gently. “But I guess a small part of it is proooobably because, y’know, they’re your lyrics, and it’s gonna be more than just the two of us hearing them performed from now on. You sure you’re gonna be OK with that?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll manage,” Hitomi smiled softly, her blush beginning to fade away. “Just know that while you’re up on stage, I’ll be in the back burying my head in my hands and desperately wishing for it all to be over as quickly as possible.”

“Oooh, sounds like a good time.”

“You know it,” Hitomi chuckled softly, before giving Arisa a quick kiss on the cheek. “But really, I’ll be OK. I can’t say it’s not a little scary, but you’ve helped me get through a lot of things I’d normally be way too scared to even think about. There’s no way, no matter how shy I feel leading up to it all, that it won’t melt away the second I hear your voice.”

“There’s no shame in being scared, y’know. But you’re so much braver than you realize, Hitomi. You’ve helped me overcome a bunch of stuff, too. Hell, there’s no way I’d even get near a stage without your words backing me up. These past couple of months have been so damn amazing, y’know that? I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt so…light.”

“Pretty impressive considering how much dessert we’ve been eating lately, huh?” Hitomi asked flatly as she finished off her drink.

“Dork!”

“Hey, Arisa?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not sure it’ll be your thing, but…” She trailed off, and reached into the pockets of her jacket to pull out a pair of small, simple-looking silver bracelets. “I got these for us both. Just in case things do end up getting difficult tomorrow night. I can’t give you a hug up on stage, and there’s no way you can tell me I’m a dork and have nothing to be worried about while you’re singing, so…I figured wearing these could be a nice alternative,” she explained, slipping the bracelet around Arisa’s wrist, before putting hers on in turn. “If you get scared, if you get nervous up on stage, I want you to just…look down at that, OK? Just look at that bracelet and know that, wherever I am, I’m wearing one too. No matter how far apart we are, we’ll always be together, and when we’re together-”

“We’ve got nothing to be afraid of, right?” Arisa finished off her sentiment, admiring the bracelet that now adorned her wrist. She watched the way it caught the light, shimmering in the midday sun.

“Mmm. That’s the idea, anyway.”

“Gosh, you wanna know something, Hitomi?”

“Sure.”

“You really are a huge dork! And this…” Arisa flashed a broad grin as she held up her bracelet for Hitomi to see, “is one of your dorkiest ideas yet.”

“But you like that, right?” Hitomi asked, smiling back.

“Of course I do!” Arisa hugged her tightly, “Because it’s so damn you! It’s so sweet, so sincere in the way only you could be! Most people woulda gone for a ring, ya know?”

“I’d thought about that,” Hitomi started to explain, “but I thought that might be a bit too…proposal-y…”

“Oh? You mean you wouldn’t want to settle down with me?” Arisa teased, giving Hitomi enough time to be embarrassed before interrupting the pout starting to overcome her face. “Nah, I get ‘ya. Rings are nice and all that, but they seem a little too…stiff for us, yeah? I think something like this fits us a lot better.”

“Yep! Besides, the way I see it, I don’t need a ring to know that I don’t ever want to leave your side, and if I had to guess,” she leaned in, kissing Arisa lovingly once more, “you feel the exact same way, right?”

Arisa was sure that her answer would be obvious even if she said nothing at all, but she wanted to make her feelings ring out loud and clear, determined to never let her heart waver around the girl of her dreams.

“Yeah.” She kissed Hitomi back, never wanting to leave her embrace. “I love you, Hitomi, and there’s nothing that could ever change that.”

“Not even if I die from embarrassment tomorrow?”

“Of course not, dork! We’re gonna get through this, together. Same way we’re going to get through whatever life throws at us. That’s why you got these bracelets in the first place, right?”

“Yeah,” Hitomi said, happy tears starting to well up in the corner of her eyes as she smiled back at Arisa. “Because, no matter what, we’re in this together.”


End file.
